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Scots Kings—Including Kings of Dal Riada who Reigned from Ireland by Hugh McGough

The Scots were originally the Irish of Ulster, some of whom moved to Argyll. The Scoti of Scotland came from Ireland. "Scotus" was the Latin word for Irishman—or at least the tribes in and near the northern part of county Antrim, and probably all of northeastern Ulster. The tribes of Ireland in Ulster, especially the Dal Riada, gave Scotland its name:

"Dal Riada - in descent from Cairbre Rioghfhoda (Ríada), son of Conaire, in the line of Heremon. Dal Riata was the tribal and territorial name of the early tribes of County Antrim, particularly the northeast portion. The area later known as the Route (Rúta), in northern co. Antrim, is often equated with the Dal Riada. The Dal Riada extended their kingdom into Scotland probably during the 3rd to the 7th centuries. The early term that the Romans referred to these and other tribes from Ireland was the "Scoti", thus the legend of where Scotland received its name." Ancient Uladh—Kingdom of Ulster, from Ireland's History in Maps.

In the time of Ptolemy, the Scoti occupied much of Ulster, including (some say) county Monaghan. Ultimately, the Romans used the word Scotia refer to refer to all of Ireland (Roman writers referrred to Ireland both as Scotia and Hibernia.), and Scoti to refer to all Irishmen. Early in the first millennium, the community of Dal Riada included both the north and northeast part of what is now county Antrim in Ireland and what is now county Argyll in Scotland. Travel over the narrow channel of water that separated the two parts of Dal Riada was easier than communication over land with other parts of Ireland. The seat of the king of the Dal Riada was in Ireland until about 490 A.D. when Fergus Mor MacEarca moved to what is now Scotland. For centuries before then, however, the kings of Dal Riada exercised control from Ireland over the Dal Riada in Scotland and, despite their location in what is now two countries, the people of Dal Riada were one community.

"It has been stated that the kingship of Dal Riata was moved to Scotland with Fergus mac Earca and his descendants, and that later in the 6th century the lords of the Dal Riata in Ireland were also allied with their southern neighbors, the Dal Fiatach." Ancient Uladh—Kingdom of Ulster—Uladh, from Ireland's History in Maps.

Here is a quotation from The Scots (part 1) on irelandseye.com:

"Scotland took its name from the Scotti—Latin for Irish—who, in the sixth century AD, extended their north-eastern kingdom of Dal Riata eastwards into what is now Argyll. The great monastery of Candida Casa—the 'White House'—in Galloway influenced the development of Irish monasticism, which, in turn, contributed to the evangelisation of Scotland through the community founded on Iona by Columba. The Irish, it has been said, gave the Scots their name, their language (Gaelic) and their Christianity. Thus, long before the seventeenth century and the Plantation of Ulster, Scotland and the north of Ireland were closely linked."

Geoffrey Keating, in his History of Ireland, distinguishes between the Gaels and the Saxons, and says that, as to all the tribes of Gaels in Alba, ". . . it was from the Gaels in Ireland their nobles sprang."

"Buchanan agrees with the above, in the thirty-fourth page of the second book of the History of Alba, where he says: 'Because both the inhabitants of Ireland and the colonists they sent to Alba were originally called Scots, in order that by some difference they might be distinguished from one another, people from the first called the one race Irish Scots, and the other Albanian Scots.' From these words of Buchanan two things are to be inferred; the first is that it was from Ireland the Scots went to occupy Alba; and the second is that the Irish were ordinarily called Scots from the beginning." (book I, section XLIX) [John O'Mahony's translation, which is slightly different, will be found at page 381 of volume 1 of the edition published in the year 2000 by the Irish Genealogical Foundation.]

"This Niall [Niall of the Nine Hostages*, Irish Kings # 126] went into Alba with a large host to strengthen and to establish the Dal Riada and the Scotic race in Alba, and who were at this time gaining supremacy over the Cruithnigh, who are called Picti; and he was the first to give the name Scotia to Alba, being requested to do so by the Dal Riada and the Scotic race, on the condition that she should be called Scotia Minor or Lesser Scotia, while Ireland should be called Scotia Major or Greater Scotia; and it was through veneration for Scota daughter of Pharaoh Nectonibus, who was was wife of Galamh called Milidh of Spain, from whom themselves sprang, the Dal Riada chose the name Scotia for Alba, instead of calling her Hibernia. ... [Compare O'Mahony's translation, volume 1, page 373, of the Irish Genealogical Foundation's publication.]

[*Several sources attribute the naming of Scotland to Nial of the Nine Hostages, King of Ireland; for example:

"Nial Naoighiallach, youngest and only son of Eochaidh by the second wife, as aforesaid, succeeded Criomthainn and was the 126th monarch of Ireland. Was a stout, wise and warlike prince and fortunate in all his conquests and achievements and therefore called great; He was also called Niall Naoighiallach, i.e., Nial of the Nine Hostages, from the hostages taken from the nine several counties by him subdued and made tributary . ... He was the first that gave the name of Scotia Minor to Scotland and ordained it to be called so ever after, till then (and still by the Irish) called Albion." Irish mythology - the legendary descent of the Irish Clans—The Lebor Gabala Erren (The Book of the Taking of Ireland, Book of Leinster, 1150 A.D.), from Irish History on the Webb (Univeristy of Texas). See also The Milesian Legends on the superior website, McLaughlin of Donegal.

"Many authors testify that Scota was the name of Ireland, and that it was the Irish who were called the Scotic race. Thus does Jonas the abbot, in the second chapter, treating of Columcille, speak: 'Colman,' he says, who is called Colum, was born in Hibernia, which is inhabited by the Scotic race.' Beda also in the first chapter of the first book of the History of Sacsa, says that Ireland was the native land of the Scots. He speaks thus: 'Hibernia is the true fatherland of the Scots.' The same author, writing about the saints, makes a remark which agrees with this: 'It was from Hibernia, the island of the Scots, that St. Kilian and his two companions came.' From this it is to be inferred that the Irish were called the Scotic race in the time of Beda, who lived 700 years after Christ. ... The truth of this matter will be seen from the words of Capgrave, writing of St. Colum; he speaks thus: 'Scotia was an ancient name of Ireland, whence came the Scotic race, who inhabit that part of Alba which lies nearest to greater Britain; and that Alba is now for this reason, called Scotia from Ireland, from which they derive their origin, and whence they immediately came.'" (book I, section XLVIII). [Compare O'Mahony's translation, volume 1, page 375, of the Irish Genealogical Foundation's publication.]

Keating cites many other early writings demonstrating that Ireland was regularly referred to as Scotia in the first millennium. For example, from the Serarius of St. Boniface: "There are, however, two Scotias: one of them, the elder and proper Scotia, is Ireland, and the other, which is recent, in the northern part of Britain."

Further confirmation that the Irish of Dalriada were the Scoti who settled in Scotland as early as the fourth century, and eventually gave Scotland its name, is found in Settlement on the Western Seaboard c. AD300-800: Dalriada and North Uist by Ewan J. Innes © 1993:

"The Scots of Dalriada were originally from Ireland, from an area along the Antrim coast and part of the province of Ulster (now counties Antrim and Down). The originator of the political territory of the Dál Riata in Scotland was Fergus Mór mac Eirc who arrived in Kintyre c. 500.

"When Fergus Mór removed from Ireland to Scotland, there was no sundering of ties or relinquishing of authority between the two sections; and this continued to be the case under Fergus Mór's successors. Evidence for the continued rule of Dál Riata in Ireland by the Scottish branch is found at the Convention of Druim Cett. This was convened c. 575 to discuss the future relations and status of the Irish Dál Riata between Aed, son of Ainmire (d. 598) the leader of the Northern Uí Néill—the most powerful people in the north of Ireland at the time—and Aedán mac Gabráin king of Dál Riata in Scotland (d. c. 608)."

Here is the entry for Scoti in Onomasticon Goedelicum:

"scoti; first mentioned in 360, and, as Claudian says, came fr. Irel.; fr. him and fr. Gildas we learn that they went back to Irel.; they settled in Scotl. in 495 or 494, Skene's Cps. cx.; "Scotia was applied exclusively to Irel. before 10th century; this undoubted fact lies at the very foundation of the real history of Scotl.," Skene, himself a Scot, in Cps. lxxv., where he also says 'Ireland is the patria or mother country of the Scots.'"

A good summary, in seven parts, on emigration back and forth from Ireland to Scotland is: The Scots from the Appletree Press title: The People of Ireland (currently out of print), on Irelandseye.com.

The history of the early Scots kings is interwoven with the history of the early Irish kings. This web page, therefore, is a companion to the Irish Kings page on this website. There are two tables on this page. The first lists the Scots kings from Fergus Mor MacEarca to David I, whose reign marked the beginning of the end of Scots kings who were independent of England. The second table lists the earlier kings, or chiefs, of Dal Riada and uses the pedigrees of David I (#61 in the first table) and Constantine III (#47 in the first table) to trace the ancestry of these kings and chiefs to the early kings of Ireland.

History of Scotland

Although a list of kings is not the history of Scotland, the assembly of such a list teaches much about the history of the country. In this section are links to a few of the many internet pages on the general history of Scotland. Web pages specific to kings of Scotland are listed below under the heading Table of Scots Kings.

The Rampant Scotland Directory has links to several chronologies of Scottish history with biographies of many of the kings listed in these tables. Skyelander's Scottish Highlands and Islands History Web Site by Robert MacCorkill Gunn of the University of Edinburgh is a good resource. A Brief History of Scotland by Peter N. Williams, Ph.D., on the GoBritannia website, is worth reviewing. Scotland’s Early History by Helen McSkimming, offers an overview. For an archeologists view of the settlement of Dal Riada and the western seaboard of Scotland, see History of Settlement in Pre-Industrial Scotland by Ewen Innes, which had been published on the Scottish History Tour website. Discover the History of Scotland publishes a articles every week..

Firth's Celtic Scotland has won several awards. For a valuable website on Scots religious history and culture, go to The Origins of Kingship (St. Columba, Edinburgh Castle, St. Margaret’s Chapel) at www.scran.com. See also the Abbots of Iona.

See Kings and Queens of Scotland and Scotland—History from the Archives of Scottish Radiance.

Maps of Scotland

A large scale map of Scotland showing its location in relation to North Ireland and England will be found on the website of Lonely Planet Online. Under Destinations, enter Scotland. Maps of Ireland and England are also available at this site. See also the map of the United Kingdom Administrative Divisions on the University of Texas website.

The most useful maps I have found on the internet are those published by the Scottish Office. Check the map of new local authorities (1996). More detailed maps will be found on this website under the name of each district listed below the master map. For example, on the map of Argyll and Bute, the Isle of Iona is shown to the immediate west of the Island of Mull. A map of the counties of Scotland shows the counties of Scotland, rather than administrative districts, but provides less detail. The same map will be found on the Genuki web page. To test this map, locate Argyll, the green area numbered 3. Then, to locate the Isle of Iona, move due west from the numeral 3 on the map, across the Firth of Lorn, and to the outer edge of the Mull peninsula that extends westward into the Atlantic Ocean. If Iona were shown on this map, the isle would be a dot immediately off the western edge of the peninsula. The city of Glasgow is to the southeast of this point, near the junction of the counties of Renfrewshire (#25), Dumbartonshire (#10), and Lanarkshire (#18). For place name notes, go to Scotland County-by-County. To locate Iona on a larger scale map, go to multi-map.com and search for Iona. In the map of the United Kingdom Administrative Divisions on the University of Texas website, Iona is to the immediate northeast of the last "l" in "Mull." Genuki publishes a map of the counties of England, Scotland and Wales before the 1974 boundary changes.

For a map showing the six provinces of Ireland and their location in relationship to Dal Riada, Strathclyde, and other early kingdoms of Scotland and England, see Post-Roman Celtic Britain —The Island of Britain AD 450–600.

Tables of Scots Kings

The numbering through 54 and the first spellings of the names of these Kings of Scotland are taken from John O'Hart's Irish pedigrees, volume 2, pages 720 to 721. I have added numbers 55 through 61 to O'Hart's list, and I have inserted un-numbered names among O'Hart's numbered kings. My primary source for the dates of reigns and the alternative spelling of names of these kings is the Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, a database containing the genealogy of the British Royal family and those linked to it by blood or marriage relationships. The database includes the lineage of the rulers of Scotland and the early rulers of Ireland. Another list I have used as a cross check is Britannia's Kings of Scots. Some of the alternative spellings used in the tables are from Skyelander's Scottish Highlands and Islands History Web Site by Robert MacCorkill Gunn of the University of Edinburgh and Kings of Scots. I include a few quotations from and links to the Skyelander site to encourage a visit to that site.

Scotland is a web page set up by Robert Sewell in October, 2001, to show the descent of the Kings of Scotland.

Kings and Queens of Scotland (to 1603), part of the official website of the British Monarchy, gives biographies of several of the kings beginning with Kenneth MacAlpin #34. See also the Scottish Monarchy. A brief synopsis on the rulers of Scotland from Kenneth McAlpin (843–858) to James VI ( 1567–1625) will be found at Scottish Rulers. The kings of Scotland, beginning with Kenneth McAlpin, are also listed in the Periphery of Francia. On Michael McKay's website are pages on the Irish Kings of Dalriada (to 501 A.D.), the Scottish Kings of Dalriada (Tribe of Loarn 501 to 736), the Royal House of Moray (736 to 1215), and the Kings of Scots (844 to 1290). Another good source is the Scottish Kings page of the Alba—Scotland section of the Gaelic and Gaelic Culture website. The Clan MacLean/MacLaine Genealogy Database offers the opportunity to trace different lines of succession, and I include several links to that source in the tables. See also Descendants of Eochy (Eugenius) Munrevar, (King) on Genealogy (section XP) compiled by David Garfield Thaler III.

I have not prepared a separate table of the kings of Pictavia. The list will be found in The Pictish Chronicle. The dates of reign of many of these kings is presented in a convenient tabular form in Some Pictish High Kings (by Date). A scholarly interpretation of the names of these kings will be found in A Consideration of Pictish Names. In my table below, I try to include those kings of Dal Riada who reigned over both the Picts and the Scots, and I give a few links to The Pictish Kings, that provide a good overview of the Dal Riadic kings who reigned over both the Picts and the Scots. There are also on the web other lists of the Legendary Kings of the Picts and The Kings of the Picts. David Hughes has published a regnal-list on his web page The Picts. See also The Picts and Pict Resources and References. The names of the early Pictish kings, from 330 B.C. to 404 A.D., are available in Scottish Kings 330 BC to 1034 A.D. —According to Buchanan. George Buchanan (1506–1582), from whose work this list of early kings is derived, was a tutor of Mary, Queen of Scots, and King James I, and, among many works, is the author of a twenty volume history of Scotland. "As a writer of history, Dryden declared that Buchanan was 'comparable to any of the moderns and excelled by few of the ancients.' ... Buchanan’s greatest literary achievement of this period was his Rerum Scoticarum Historia, published in 1582, the year of his death, in which he related the history of Scotland from its origin till the death of the regent Lennox in 1571." The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). Volume III. Renascence and Reformation. See A Brief Outline of Buchanan's Life by Duncan H. MacNeill.

The dates of the reigns of many of the kings are different in the various sources—presumably because the different compilers are counting from different benchmarks. I have neither the expertise nor the resources to reconcile the various dates, so I have left that problem to the reader.

For a comparable list by David Hughes, go to: Scottish Kings.

David F. Dale, in his defunct website <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DavidDale1/Hisco.htm> The History of the Scots, the Picts and the Britons, section 22.1, Comparison of the Dal Riadic and Pictish King List ( Part 2 : The Picts and the Scots), compares the list of kings of Dal Riada after Fergus Mor MacEarca #1 with the list of the Pictish kings during the same times, and argues that several of the kings may be the same persons, despite significant differences in names. "The Pictish King list is almost exactly the same as the Dal Riadic King List, the dates are tallying too well for just a coincidence." Although I am not convinced by Dale's arguments, I have placed some of the names he believes are equivalent under "Comments" in my first table below—{in braces}. Dale's interpretations of the early Gaelic texts are imaginative. He suggests, for example, that that Earc or Erc was the mother, not the father, of Fergus Mor MacEarca, the founder of the Scottish monarchy. See Dale's section 12.2, Solving The Problem of Erc. Dale points out that the Senchus Fer n' Alban describes Erc as one of two sons of Eochaid Muin-remor (#20 in the second table below), but suggests that Fergus' mother was the granddaughter of this Erc. Most sources say that Erc or Earc was the father of Fergus, and that this Erc had twelve sons, six of whom remained in Ireland and six of whom, including Fergus, sailed for Scotland.

James Dow Allen has created a website with comprehensive pedigrees of Irish and Scots kings, among many others, with copious references to ancestors and descendants: Jamie Allen's Family Tree & Ancient Genealogical Allegations. I have used his website to correct mistakes on my original pages and I have included links to some of his 70,000 pages. The links will usually be found in a left hand column of my table below. He has created his site "for hobbyists who want to trace their descent from ancient genealogies" and it serves that purpose admirably. The index is super!

For other lists of the kings of Ireland and Scotland, see Regnal Chronologies under Great Britain.

The first of the tables is divided into three parts: Kings of Dal Riada who reigned from Scotland, Kings of Alba, and Kings of Scots.

For subsequent kings until the Scottish Crown was merged with that of England by the Act of Union in 1707, go to Kings of Scots.

Pedigrees of David I and Constantine III

The McLaughlin website, Camann Chlann Lachlinn, the Clan Laughlin Society, is a cornucopia of genealogical information. On the page entitled Gaelic Manuscript of 1450, Collectanea De Rebus Albanicis, Genealogies of the Highland Clans, is the Gaelic patronymic name of King David I of Scotland. The name includes within it more than fifty generations of David's male ancestors:

Daibit mc Mailcoluim mc Sionnaig [should be mc Donnach, or a version of the Latin Donnchada] mc Singin [should be mc Crinan, of a version of the Latin Cinada] mc Mailcolm mc Cineta mc Mailcolm mc Domnaill mc Consaitin mc Cineta mc Alpin mc Eachach mc Aidfin mc Domangart mc Domnaill brec mc Eachach buighe mc Aidan mc Gabhran mc Domanguirt mc Fergusa mc Eirc mc Eachach muinreamhair mc Aengusa mc Feilime mc Aengusa mc Feilime mc Seancormac mc Cruitenithe mc Finnfeiche mc Aieireirr mc Eachach an trid mc Fiadach mc Eathach riada .i. Cairpre ri fata mc Conaire caeimh mc Mogalama mc Luigeach allaig mc Cairpri mc Daire dommair mc Cairpri firmaora mc Conair moir mc Eirsgeoil mc eogan mc Iair mc Ailill mc Deagadh mc Sin ic Rosin mc ... IC Rothr mc Earmail mc Maine mc Fergusa mc Feradaigh mc Oiliol arron mc Fiacha firmara mc Aongusa tuirgeach, &c.

The manuscript from which this was taken is described as the most ancient genealogical manuscript known to exist—written about 1467 A.D. The eight parchment leaves are written in the old Irish characters and are "so very much faded by time as to be read with great difficulty." The manuscript was subjected to a chemical process to enhance its readability. The difficulty in reading the Irish characters doubtless explains the mistake of writing "mc Donnchadha" as "mc Sionnaig" and "mc Cinada" as "mc Singin" as the third and fourth names in the pedigree. The Irish language transcription of the pedigree is accompanied in the old manuscript with a Latin version. The Latin makes it clear that what is translated from the Irish as "mc Sionnaig mc Singin" is, in Latin, "f. Donnchada qui fuit nepos Maelcolain f. Cinada." The "f." means "filius," or son of.

Also on the McLaughlin website is a document entitled Pedigrees of the Scottish Clans From Irish and Scottish Manuscripts. Within this document, under the heading Genelaig Albanensium (Pedigree of the Kings of Scotland), is the pedigree of Causantin or Constantine III of Scotland.

Each mc in these pedigrees means "son of," so the name of David I takes us back through more than fifty generations of his ancestors. The pedigree of Constantine III takes us back the same length of time. Although the genealogies of David I and Constantine III join at number 7 in the table below, and theoretically should be the same thereafter, there are differences. The pedigrees take us back through Kings of Scotland, Kings of Dal Riada, and Kings of Ireland.

For explanatory material, see: Laud 610 Genealogies and Tribal Histories, under the heading Senchus Sil hErimoin annso fo hEirind, Genealogies from Rawlinson B, and Jim's Irish Family Surnames, Geinealaighe Fearmanach, especially King James' father's line and its comparison with the Ui Neill line.

In the table below, I track the family histories of King David I and King Constantine III by use of their extended patronymic surnames. Each component of the name of King David has been numbered in the left hand column of the table. In the second column is the part of King David's surname commented upon; in the third column is the comparable component of King Constantine's pedigree. Even though the "mc" means "son of," I have listed the name as that of the father.

Table of Kings of Dal Riada

This table proceeds from sons to fathers, rather than the usual order of fathers to sons. Also, it includes the kings of Dal Riada who resided in Ireland as well as Scotland. Keating says that, before Fergus (#18 in the table below, #1 in the table above) moved the seat of the kingship of the Dal Riada to Scotland, the leader in Scotland was a taoiseach rather than a king. (book II, section I).

In the far right column, I list the names as they appear in the Genelaig Albanensium (Pedigree of the Kings of Scotland) in Pedigrees of the Scottish Clans— From Irish and Scottish Manuscripts, a page on the McLaughlin website.

The names in bold letters are from a table called The Scottish Kings of Dalriada. The names in bold italics appear in the Pedigree of the Kings of Scotland. I also include the spelling of the names from the genealogical chart in Milesian Ancestry of the Corcu Duibne.

[See: List of Kings of Dál Riata from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The same list is published on Answers.com.]

Scots King—Including Kings of Dal Riada who Reigned from Irelands <http://www.magoo.com/hugh/scotskings.html> Updated January 12, 2014		Feedback » Site Search & Directory » © 1999–2014 Hugh McGough »